Eyelet.



"UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IEYELET.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 24, 1906.

Application filed January 28, 1904. Serial No. 190,937-

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LANGMAID, of Haverhill, in the county ofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Eyelets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to tubular eyelets, such as are employed inshoes and in garments of various kinds; and it has for its object toprovide certain im rovements therein, to which reference will besubsequently made.

As hitherto constructed all metallic eyelets having the flangedownwardly curved to effect its engagement with the material have had atendency to either cut into the material or else to permit the apertureformed in the material to be elongated when the material is undertension, particularly where the eyelet is insufliciently clenched.

The object of the present invention is to provide an eyelet having itsflange formed with a plurality of ribs or teeth formed on its under facefor the purpose of rigidly engaging without materially penetrating thefabric or material, and thus'locking the eyelet, as it were, to thematerial. In thus constructing the eyelet the upper surface of theflange is substantially convex, with a flat crimped outer edge whichlies substantially flat upon the surface of the material, except for theindentations formed by the teeth, this said outer edge not onlymaterially strengthening the eyelet, but also adding an ornate orornamental appearance thereto. The crimping of the flat edge isaccomplished by dies and serves to materially harden the metal of theeyelet, as will be readily understood by those acquainted with this art.

Referring to the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 represents in sideelevation an eyelet embodying the invention, the figure being drawn upona relatively large scale. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the eyelet.Fig. 3 represents the obverse or under side of the eyelet. Fig. 4represents a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 represents asection through the eyelet when it is clenched upon the work, being, asit were, a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the tubular body portion of the eyelet isindicated at 10, its lower end being inturned, as at 11, to enable saidbody to more easily enter the aperture formed in the material for itsreception. The upper end of the eyelet is bent over, as

at 12, to form the concavo-convex flange, the convex face of which isuppermost, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. The edge or rim of theflange is relatively flat and projects outwardly in a planesubstantially perpendicular to the axial center of the tubular bodyportion. By means of suitable dies or other mechanism the flat rim isformed with a plurality of teeth 14 14, which project downwardly fromthe plane of the rim, these teeth being produced by corrugating the rim,so that the upper surface thereof has a series of radial convexities anddepressions or grooves. This flat corrugated rim, as previously stated,greatly strengthens the flange and provides a plurality ofslightly-concave bearing-surfaces 13 with alternating teeth 14, so thatwhen the eyelet is clenched upon the work, as shown in Fig. 5, thesurfaces 13 bear upon the surface of the material and the radial teeth14 proj ect downwardly into depressions in the material formed by saidteeth.

When the eyelet is clenched upon the work or material, as shown in Fig.5, the teeth 14 and intermediate portions 13 of the flange or rim bearupon the material so as to firmly grip the edges of the material aroundthe hole through which the body portion 10 passes and prevent any pullon the material from elongating the hole, so as to disengage its edgefrom the corrugations, and since there are no penetrating portions ofthe rim or flange that would have a tendency to cut the fibers of thematerial or work the connection of the eyelet is more permanent thanwhen a circular edge or pointed prongs are relied upon to grip thematerial.

It is to be distinctly understood that by the term corrugated I do notintend to include structures which have any sharp cut ting orpenetrating portions.

The eyelet as a whole may be japanned or otherwise finished, asrequirements or fancy may dictate.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way ofconstructing and using the same, I declare that what I claim is- 1. Aneyelet having a tubular body portion with an outturned flange at oneend, said flange having a crimped rim, the ortions of the said rim whichbear on the abric to which the eyelet is connected being rounded toavoid cutting or penetrating the fabric.

2. An eyelet having a tubular body portion one end of which is curvedoutwardly and downwardly to form a flange, said flange In testimonywhereof I have afiixed my being formed with a crimped rim lying in asignature in presence of two Witnesses.

center of the tubular body portion, the under surface of the crimped rimpresenting a series Witnesses:

of rounded ribs adapted to grip fabric with CHARLES E. LANGMAID, outpenetrating or cutting it. CHARLES F. BROWN.

plane substantially perpendicular to the axial GEORGE A LANGMAID.

